On a cloudy day, most of us feel a little down wanting to get out in the sun to “amp-up our “Vitamin D”. However, the sun has only one role in helping our “D” do the trick for our mood; it synthesizes what’s inside of us.
From the food we eat to how our body utilizes it, “D” provides many life giving properties:
*It builds tissue, metabolizes calcium, nerves, builds messengers (between the brain the body), stimulate activation and growth.
*It helps rebuild our immune system while taking care of the disposal of our dead cells (through the natural apoptosis process aka cell suicide)
Exposure to the sun helps to stimulate what we’ve already consumed through Vitamin D3, resulting in:
*Releasing the “feel good” hormone “Serotonin” (thus the reason why we enjoy a sunny day!) However, sunscreen only helps to play a part in protecting our skin to overexposure from the sun’s UVB rays.
*Increasing our overall wellness
*Help defend our body against illness and disease
Nutritional resources
Nutrition is vitally crucial in making the healthy deposits our body requires. We can find the supply of Vitamin D from several food groups:
Dairy (Milk, butter)
Fish liver oils (Cod)
Oily fish (Salmon, Tuna, Halibut, Mackerel, Sardines)
Seeds (sunflower)
Shell seafood (Oysters)
Plants (Mushrooms)
Beef liver, cheese and egg yolk each supply smaller amounts of Vitamin D to our body.
Other secondary foods made from Vitamin D resources (i.e. Ice cream, cheese) are usually not “fortified” with Vitamin D (think of it as reinforced/added to) and do not supply any significant amounts.
Fortified products like yogurt, orange juice, cereals and margarine often have a degree of added “D”. Learn to read the labels to determine if they have been fortified.
DRI’s for Adults and Children
Visit the following link to learn more about the DRI’s to see if you’re getting the amount of D you need from natural resources. While medical grade supplements are sometimes necessary to supply for a severe deficiency, the natural resources should become part of our daily supply through what we consume via nutrition. (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-QuickFacts/)
Signs/symptoms of low D
The following is some of the typical signs of low vitamin D:
Depression
Rickets
Osteoporosis
Individuals with naturally darker skin color have a higher resistance to synthesizing Vitamin D from exposure to the sun, thus causing their vitamin D levels to appear lower than someone with a lighter complexion. Many other diseases are being studied for their connection to low vitamin D levels (i.e. Multiple sclerosis, autoimmune disease, hypertension, and bone disorders). The increased intake of D is being studied for its protection against some types of cancer colon, breast and prostate. On the other-hand, too much Vitamin D may be linked to other forms of cancer, like pancreatic cancer.
Supplements
There can be a great deal of confusion over taking versus not taking supplements for low Vitamin D. Nutrition first should be the underlying source for where our Vitamin D is derived. However, if you are going to take a supplement it should be either medical or pharmaceutical grade in quality. Just taking supplements and not changing your dietary/nutritional needs is counterproductive to your overall wellness.
Quick Tips for Wellness: Vitamin D is an internal cornerstone the body needs to build off of for good health.
Pat Ferguson is an AASDN Nutrition Specialist, Author, Nutrition Educator and Seminar Leader
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